Sidhu had once called Kejriwal ‘bhagora’, ‘nautanki baaz’

New Delhi: Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha and is likely to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had not been very charitable in his use of words to describe Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, even calling him ‘bhagora’ (absconder), ‘nautanki baaz’ (given to drama) and ‘girgit’ (chameleon) while campaigning for the BJP in the Delhi elections.

During the Delhi assembly elections in February 2015, Sidhu had campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi.

Terming Kejriwal an absconder in one of his rallies, Sidhu had said: “Har jagah bhagham bhag…Parivartan NGO chodke bhaga, naukri chodke bhaga, Delhi ki janata ko chodke bhaga, phir Benaras chodke bhaga..bhagne ka itna shauk hai toh ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ ka dusra bhag banata na (He keeps running from everything, first he ran away from Parivartan NGO, then ran from his job, then he ran away from the people of Delhi and finally from Benaras. If he loves running away so much, then he should have made Part II of Bhag Milkha Bhag.)”

Sidhu had also imitated Kejriwal’s coughing and made fun of him, saying: “He can’t cure his cough, how can he improve the conditions in Delhi. He is a nautanki (drama) company, a nautanki baaz.”

Saying that even a girgit (chameleon) would be ashamed, Sidhu had accused Kejriwal of changing colours to suit his own position.

“Har jagah dharna, yahan dharna wahan dharna. Pehle bola politics nahi join karunga baad mein political party bana li, phir bola CM nahi banunga, phir CM ban gaya, phir bola Congress ki support nahi lunga, bachho ki kasam khata hoon. Jo banda Anna Hazare ka nahi ho saka, jo apne baccho ka nahi ho saka, woh tumhara kaise hoga.” (He sits on dharna at the drop of a hat. First he said he won’t join politics, then he formed a political party. He had said he won’t become the Chief Minister, then went on to become the CM. Then swearing by his children, he said he won’t take support from the Congress. Someone who could not be loyal to Anna Hazare or belong to his own children, how can he belong to the people of Delhi.)”

Defending her husband, Navjot Kaur Sidhu told a news channel: “It happens in politics. When you have to speak out, you speak against the opposition. But these are not serious allegations. After being in politics, everyday you learn thousands of things.”